


Don't You Forget (About Me)

by SuperStitious18



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Temporary Amnesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22293346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperStitious18/pseuds/SuperStitious18
Summary: Based off of an idea my friend gave me.------A mission goes heywire and Ray wakes up, missing the past three years of his memory. He has no memory of Nora, no memory of all of his news friends and he's missed most of his daughter's important milestones.What will happen now?AN: Finished!
Relationships: Nora Darhk/Ray Palmer, Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Comments: 4
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [timetravelingpalmer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/timetravelingpalmer/gifts).



> Hope you enjoy!

"Ray, watch out!" He heard one of his teammates yell right before something solid connected with the side of his head and quickly knocked him out.

\----------

The first thing that Ray noticed when he finally came to was that his head hurt worse than that time he got drunk while he had a concussion. The second thing was that the smell of antiseptic and the beeping told him he was in a hospital setting, he'd bet it was the Waverider.

Everyone back in Star City still probably thought he was dead anyways.

The  _ third _ thing was that there were a few new voices that talked quietly around him. Did they recruit new people while he was unconscious? How rude of him! How dare he be out of it while there were new friends to greet?

"Ugh." He groaned as he opened his eyes and glared at the bright light before he looked over at whoever held his hand. There was a woman who looked at him with undeniable joy in her eyes and had the brightest smile on her face. Oh no, were they friends and he couldn't remember? He really wanted to be able to match her enthusiasm but he was extremely unsure of the situation.

"Ray!" Sara pulled his attention to her, but he only grew more confused. Who was the woman she was with? Not that he had anything against Sara dating, but at the very least he'd like to know  _ who  _ she was dating… and maybe why she looked a little scary. She honestly looked like she would be able to wipe the floor with him if he pissed her off enough. "Hey buddy, are you okay? You took a pretty hard hit to the head!"

Well, that was new too. While he and Sara had known each other during their times on Team Arrow and during the course of their adventures with Rip, she usually wasn't so friendly. She mainly hung out with Len and Mick and avoided the rest of them if she could help it. Not that he minded! He'd been wanting to be friends with her, like genuine, good friends with Sara, especially since she was the only other one who knew what it was like to be displaced through time.

"I'm… okay? My head hurts,  _ a lot _ , but I've had worse… but, um, I have a question." Ray said hesitantly and glanced around at everyone.

"To be expected, Gideon did say you might experience some memory loss due to your recent… connection with Nate." The lady at Sara's side said, amused. "But seriously, proceed, I'm sorry." 

He watched as Sara only turned to reassure her, they were obviously close, especially if they were being so affectionate in front of everyone. Sara wasn't the one for public displays of affection, at least, if you weren't Laurel or Oliver.

"Did we get new people? Where's Rip? And Mick? Len? Kendra? Is Nicole okay? How long have I been out? Who are some of you? I didn't get to greet you! Hello!" His cheerful chirp seemed to be lost amongst the tense silence that followed. "Did I… forget someone?" Ray frowned as he felt the unease with everyone now.

Sara looked hesitant and glanced around at all the people Ray didn't remember, which was  _ everyone in the room  _ except for her. She watched as Nora slowly pulled her hand back, fear and sadness marred her expression in such a way that it made her heart constrict sadly. Sara saw Nate's body language change from joyful over Ray being awake to pure horror as he realized what he did, what he did to his best friend.

She heaved out a sigh and stepped away from Ava, dropping her girlfriend's hand. "Okay, who's in this room that you  _ do  _ recognize?" she asked as she tried to be gentle in her approach. Even if he was calm right now, Ray could spook at any moment with everyone in the room staring at him.

"Well… just you." Ray said sheepishly and looked around the room again at all the sad faces. Especially the man at the foot of the bed and the woman who had been holding his hand when he woke up. Why were they so upset? Did he know them before? Or, were they close before his memory had apparently failed him? 

"Okay, everyone  _ out. _ Gideon, get Mick up here and tell him to bring Nicole." Sara ordered, shoving Zari and Charlie out the door first and then Nate who looked much like someone just kicked his puppy. John grumbled about how of course Ray didn't remember him even if they had met a few times in Star City before Ray went to join the Legends. To be fair, John was a wild card and Ray didn't really meet him well before everything went sideways.

Ava stopped Sara before she moved Nora. "I'll take her out, I'm pretty sure she's in shock." She said softly, kissing Sara's temple before helping Nora out of the room.

Sara winced. She knew how much Nora loved Ray, so for him to not remember her was… definitely not fun. She could only imagine what she would do if Ava had just woken up from a week long coma, surrounded by new people and not being able to remember  _ anything  _ of the past three years. That wouldn't be much, granted but still, the principle of it all.

"What's haircut's deal?" Mick grumbled as he came in the room, Nicole on his hip and his reading glasses in hand. "I was in the middle of something!"

Ray was staring at Mick, holding a girl that was about five years old on his hip. She started squirming when she saw him awake and demanded to be put down, to which Mick swiftly did so. Ray was a little surprised by how gentle he had been but despite being a hardened felon, he had always had a soft spot for kids. He'd been good with them too, case in point of him pep talking his younger self. (If you wanted to call it that.)

"Papa!" The girl greeted him enthusiastically while she kept her voice down to be gentle on his overly sensitive head. This was…

_ Nicole? _

Sara rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry to interrupt your play date sweetheart, but Ray, your papa, doesn't remember… well, the last 3 years basically." she tried to break the news gently to Nicole but only got a horrified little noise from the girl.

"I don't remember  _ what?"  _ Ray jerked upwards in the bed, only to fall right back down as the entire room seemed to spin. His head pounded intensely, reminding him that he  _ may  _ have a concussion. No, he definitely had a concussion. "I don't remember? What the heck happened? Is that why my daughter is suddenly… older? Why does my head feel like I was hit by a train carrying  _ steel _ ?"

Mick snickered a little and Sara elbowed him for laughing at an inappropriate time. "Well, you know the guy who was at the foot of the bed? Dark hair, giant muscles…?" Sara started, unsure if she really should be telling him  _ how  _ he ended up in the medbay. 

"Yeah…"

"Well, he's got powers that let him turn his skin to… steel. Someone threw him at you and he was steeled up when he hit you square in the head." Sara finally finished telling him and she winced because she remembered how bad that had been. "You had been watching Nora's back and well, she yelled but you didn't quite duck in time, big guy."

Ray's jaw dropped as he heard what happened to him. His hands instinctively went up to the back of his head but everything felt normal, minus the pounding in his skull. "How am I not  _ dead _ then?"

"Oh, you were." Mick said gruffly and took a swig of his beer. "Gideon fixed you up somehow and then you weren't dead. We put a mark under your name on the  _ How many times have I died?  _ board. Captain's still winning." 

Nicole smacked his leg, a lot of frustration radiating from her little body. "That's not funny, Uncle Mick! I don't like my papa dying!" She gave him a stern look and managed to wrangle a genuine apology from him.

Ray just gawked at the three of them, unsure if they were being serious or not. How the hell could he have lost three  _ years  _ of memories? And how come it was only that specific amount?

"Okay, I… guess… that makes sense?" But they all knew, it didn't really make  _ any _ sense to him and he was just trying to continue on for the sake of learning what else he missed. "So, where's… the others? Rip? Len? Kendra?" Ray continued.

"Snart's dead." Even though it was years later, Mick didn't like to revisit the death of his longtime partner who decided to play hero and sacrifice his life. He put his hand on top of Nicole's head, it helped to have someone who didn't care how he acted and someone young who believed in him too. Plus, she was pretty damn fun to hang out with too.

"Rip's dead too. Died saving us from a Time Demon." Sara winced, that was still pretty recent and even if the man had been a giant asshole sometimes, he did buy them time to recoup and defeat Mallus. And buy Ray and Damien Darhk time to save Nora from dying a horrible and senseless death. (Which had been a brilliant idea, Nora was easily a close friend of theirs now and Nicole adored her mama.)

"Oh god." Ray looked horrified. "And…?"

"She's not dead, ran off with Carter and left the Legends. Jax is retired, Stein's retired, he's just a happy granddad now and we got a whole new crew including a warlock, a shapeshifter who looks like a former teammate of ours, a man who got injected with a Nazi supersyrum, a girl from the future with a magical wind totem, another woman from the  _ very  _ distant future-"

"A clone." Mick interjected and got whacked rather hard for saying that. He rubbed his shoulder, grumbling on about angry women.

"Anyways." Sara glared at him. "Wally was here, I don't think you quite knew him before but he's Iris's half brother who's a speedster. Uh, there's a… Darhk."

"What?" Ray stopped her. "Like,  _ Damien Darhk?  _ The man who wrecked Star City?"

"And killed her sister."

"Mick!" Sara smacked him again which caused him to wince as she was actually strong enough to hurt him. "That wasn't something  _ I _ wanted to relive, okay? So, just, shut up."

"Oh, oh no, Sara, I-I'm sorry." Ray was still so confused by everything Sara just told him and to be fair, it was  _ a lot _ to take in. 

"Kendra left?" He changed the subject and got pitying looks from them as he flopped back down onto the bed. No wonder, if Carter was somehow found and she could have him, no shit she left the Legends and left him.

Why couldn't he get lucky in love? Just once?

"Don't worry papa! Miss Kendra left but you have mama and me now!" Nicole tried to cheer him up but that only left him with more questions. Did Anna suddenly come back from the dead too? Did he move on? Was Nicole just delusional?

He seriously doubted that last one but he definitely needed to rest before moving on. There had been too much information for his poor brain and god, he  _ really  _ needed a nap.

\----------

Ava rubbed Nora's back gently, she hoped to try and console her at least a little after the revelation in the medbay. "I don't know what it is you're going through. Not exactly, but come on, this is Ray Palmer. He could  _ never  _ forget he's in love with you."

"I  _ know _ ." Nora frowned and leaned more into her best friend. She was glad to have a best friend she could lean on during this very stressful moment. "We literally have a child together and-" She stopped for a minute, as much as she loved Ava and she really did, she never thought she'd have someone who was like a sister to her. 

But that particular bit of info was for Ray first and no one before him.

"I know." Ava honestly didn't but she gave Nora the out she needed to step away from that topic. "I wonder how how Nicole is? She takes everything in stride but…"

Nora winced a little. Ray was going to be heartbroken at not being able to remember some of Nicole's important milestones. Her first tooth, her first steps, her first words… he'd hate that especially if he knew her first word had been 'dada'.

And on the other hand, Nicole might not notice. Ray would absolutely know Nicole and would hopefully just try to be slick about getting to know her all over again. Though, if asked, he couldn't lie to his daughter, Ray couldn't lie to  _ anyone _ .

"I guess there's really only one way to find out." Nora sighed, standing up from her spot on the couch and she started towards the medbay. 

She wasn't exactly prepared to face the love of her life when he couldn't remember her or any of their adventures together. Nor was she ready to have to deal with a heartbroken toddler should Ray lack his usual tact and question Nicole wrong enough to set her off.

Well, as she said, only one way to know for certain.

\---------

Nora gently opened the medbay door, gathering the attention of the three adults and Nicole rather easily. "Hey, I just came to see how everything's going?" She said, uncertain and a little antsy that she should even be here.

Ray gave her a polite, unsure smile. That wasn't unexpected, he didn't remember her but he was too nice to ask her what the hell she was doing there. Sara gave her an easy grin and Mick was… Mick. 

"Gideon says-" Sara was interrupted by Nicole  _ jumping  _ off the medbed and running towards Nora. 

"Mama!" Nicole cheered, now leaping up as Nora crouched down to catch her and put the child on her hip. "Papa and I played a game!"

Nora avoided looking at Ray for the moment. "Oh? Also, you know there's rules against jumping on mama like that." She chastised Nicole gently and got a small pair of arms around her neck in a hug.

"Sorry mama, but I was excited! Papa was acting! Like he didn't know  _ anything _ ." Nicole whispered conspiratorially, glancing between all the adults in the room as she let Nora in on the big 'secret'. "Auntie Sara and Uncle Mick were making it a game!"

Nora wished she had a free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose to stave off the incoming headache. Sara at least had the decency to look guilty for partaking in a little tomfoolery while Mick just shrugged and left the room. Ray had an unreadable expression on his face as he stared at her. 

"Nicole, um, well, the last mission your father  _ did  _ hurt his head, remember?"

"Uh huh…"

"And because of that, he might not remember everything well."

Nicole frowned and looked at her father, contemplating her next words very seriously. "He doesn't remember me?"

"No, I think he does. Just… maybe not as you are now? So, he's trying to get to know you again!" Nicole nodded, taking Nora's words very seriously as she now requested to be put on Ray's bed. Nora did and gave Ray a shy smile, she knew he wouldn't remember her but dammit, he was still adorable and made her heart do strange things.

Nicole stuck her small hand out to Ray as if she were ready for him to shake her hand. He did so very gently, trying not to crush it and hurt her. "I'm Nicole Palmer, your daughter! I'm five!" She helpfully informed him with a toothy grin. "This is my mama!" Nicole turned to Nora, grabbing her hand so she could get them to shake hands.

They entertained her and shook hands, Ray treating Nora almost like a stranger because of his memory but he still was incredibly gentle with her. Then again, that was just who Ray Palmer was at his very core. He was a kind, sweet, almost too polite human being, so it would make sense that he treated her the same way he did every new person in his life.

"Er, what is your mama's name…?" Ray whispered to Nicole, he had been told who everyone was but didn't rightly recall descriptions and names. 

Nicole looked expectantly at Nora again, charming her with her big brown eyes. "You know too much." Nora gently teased the little girl, happy with the sweet giggles that came from her. "Um, I'm… Nora Darhk." 

Ray froze a little, easily recognizing the name Darhk from Damien Darhk as well as the crew members that Sara and Mick had told him before Nicole came in. Damien had been evil and honestly? An asshole that terrorized Star City for no real good reason other than being power hungry. So, his daughter should be equally terrifying?

Except. He  _ knows  _ Nora Darhk, the little girl she was when he was a big threat to Star City. He knows it was wrong for her to witness her demented father being killed, her mother being dead too so now she was an orphan, left to rue the very legacy of a man that her home city called a hero for killing her father. 

And well, that would mess just about anyone up. Ray was sure she might have problems, hell, she might really have been bad once upon a time and no one was going into extreme details. 

"Oh." Ray simply stated, which only worsened Nora's anxieties. "You're a lot different than I thought you'd be."

"Less demonic?"

"No, everyone said nothing but good things but… I still didn't expect you to be so… okay?"

Nora had to chuckle at that. “Trust me, there’s been a fair share of therapy. On all of our accounts sadly, right Nicole?”

“I get ice cream after!” she helpfully shared as she forced her small body underneath Ray’s arm so she could cuddle him. “Mama says I’m really brave. You do too!”

Ray faked offense, “But it means more from her? What am I, chopped liver?” He snickered as Nicole quickly tried to make it seem like she loved and valued his opinions just as much as Nora’s. “And why the therapy?”

Right. He didn’t know about Neron possessing him or attempting to murder John only for Nicole to take his place in order to break the spell the demon held on her father. He knows the agony of losing his fiancee and then Kendra was fresh on his mind again… so maybe now is not the time to tell him that he had to mourn his five year old for like, 5 minutes.

“Ah well, she’s been on the ship with us a lot. Figured it would be good…” Nora desperately hoped that Nicole wouldn’t overshare right this second and let her father believe that she escaped unscathed from… well the whole demon debacle that happened. “You know, preventative measures?”

Ray just accepted her at her word and thankfully, Nicole just hummed as she snuggled more into his side. “So. When can I get out of the medbay?”

She actually didn’t know the answer to this question, hell, Nora didn’t have much time to get briefed on his condition before she was jumped by their daughter who  _ insisted  _ on them “meeting” and then talking. Sara and Mick sure as hell didn’t tell her before fleeing the room, the traitorous bastards. “Er…”

“Mr. Palmer is physically fine.” Gideon supplemented one of the answers Nora wanted. “He may leave the medbay in a few hours, I wish to have him isolated and under watch for that long. Then I will observe him as he interacts with the other Legends, then I will hopefully deduce how to get his full memories back.” 

Well. That settled that. “Okay, Nicole will probably want to take a nap, right sweetie?” Nora had no intention of separating them unless Nicole wanted to get down or do something. Nicole nodded, proceeding to wiggle worm about until she was even cozier against her father. “That’s what I thought. I’ll be right back, okay?” She pressed a gentle kiss to Nicole’s head, pulling a spare blanket over her. Nora hesitated a little, normally she’d give Ray a little parting kiss as well but that was  _ definitely  _ too fast for a man who just woke up from a mini coma and had to get the past three years of news via the speed run method.

Ray saw her hesitation and questioned her on it.

“Just- something we usually do. But, I don’t think you’re quite there yet.” She gave him an apologetic look and only received a kind smile in return.

“That’s okay. Um, I look forward to getting to know you again, Nora.”

Nora grinned at that, no matter what the circumstances, she always enjoyed hearing him say her name. “I just hope I’m as impressive as I was the first time, Ray.” And with that, she left the room to go hand out updates and do a few small chores before she would go back and collect them.

\---------------------

Ray was pleased that Nora kept her promise and came back to the room. “I’m going to assume you remember how the shower works.” She teased him, placing a stack of fresh clothes at the end of the bed for him to change into once he was clean. Nora gently took Nicole off the bed, the girl was out like a light so she didn’t even flinch as she was scooped up to be moved. “Don’t move yet, I’m going to dump her on Ava so I can help you up.”

“Gideon said I was fine?”

“Yeah, you are.” Nora rolled her eyes a little. “You are fine, but you’ve been in a  _ coma _ in a  _ bed for a week,  _ you aren’t gonna wanna walk without a little help, Mr. Palmer.” 

He held his hands up in surrender, properly cowed by this tiny force of nature. “Okay, I’ll wait here. By myself. All alone…” Ray pouted.

“Don’t be silly, you have Gideon. Let’s just hope she doesn’t decide to mess with you now that she knows you’re okay.” Ray looked like he wanted to ask, but he also looked slightly afraid to know the answer. “Oh, she won’t mess with you in the medbay, think about how you like honey on your pancakes and she decided that the bottle would have a sudden cap mishap…”

Ray let out a surprised laugh, he could almost imagine the face he made when his breakfast was apparently drowned in honey, no doubt overflowing onto the table beneath the plate. 

“Mama? Papa?” Nicole’s drowsy voice interrupted their camaraderie. She rubbed her hands into her eyes, attempting to get rid of the sleep that clung there. “What’s going on?” She asked, yawning widely and then burrowing into Nora’s shirt.

“Your papa needs to shower and get dressed so he can come have lunch with us! I’m gonna take you to the aunts and uncles so you can nap a little longer, is that okay?” Nora asked, ignoring Ray’s probing look. She adored him but she really didn't want to be questioned about her mothering, or lack thereof, skills. 

Nicole yawned and nodded, Nora gently put her back down on the bed so she could say her brief goodbyes to her father. She kissed Ray's cheek and told him that she loved him before she stuck her arms up towards Nora. "Ready mama." She mumbled as Nora picked her up, gave Ray one last little smile before she carried Nicole off towards where the other Legends were.

It gave Ray time to think about all that he'd been told and what he'd seen since he woke up. He had no reason to think anyone would lie to him but god, does he need a minute to absorb all of it. His daughter was five, he'd apparently found love again and gained an even  _ larger  _ family than he thought he'd ever have. He'd lost some of that family, gained new people and lost them before getting them back in strange, new ways.

It was still mind boggling to him that he had a girlfriend, who  _ wasn't  _ Kendra. He knew the chances of him staying with her had been slim but he still tried to make it work anyway. Only, come to find out, Carter comes back and they go off together, leaving him broken hearted again and with his daughter to pick up the pieces. He guessed that it was a good thing that he didn't tell Nicole about them, even when they got back from being stuck in the 1950's and were engaged… 

The  _ worst  _ part about it is that he's hurt she left him and he's moved on and can't remember. He can't remember anything about this woman who calls Nicole her daughter and calls him her boyfriend. Were they dating? Were they engaged, oh god, were they  _ married  _ and he didn't remember a damn thing? How could he forget his own-

"Hey, hey Ray? What is it?" Nora's voice stopped his self destructive thoughts, her touch soft and light on his hand. He doesn't quite know how she did it, but everything just seemed to stop for him. All the panic. All the pain and the worries about what had happened and what could happen. She made it all disappear.

She had to be magic, that was it.

He cleared his throat. "Just… a little overwhelmed. Three years… is a lot to make up for." He squeezed her hands and took a moment to marvel at how tiny her hands were compared to one of his. Ray knew he was pretty much the definition of big and tall but she was so  _ little. _

Nora squeezed his hand back. "I know, it's hard to take in. How about we get you smelling nicer and you have lunch with everyone? You have any questions, they'll answer them. Or let Nicole answer them, she loves to tell stories like you do." She told him and was happy with the way his face lit up at that. "She told me one the other day, it was about a prince saving his best friend and it turns out, the best friend was doing pretty good by herself. You know, self rescuing princess?"

"Where did she come up with that?" Ray was curious. That didn't sound like any story he could have possibly told Nicole, or if he did, was it based off the three years?

There was a lull in the conversation as Nora helped him sit up properly for the first time in almost a week and a half. He slowly moved so that his legs hung over the side of the bed, his feet touched the floor instantaneously and Ray yelped a little from how cold the floor was. "That's good, you haven't lost feeling in your feet." Nora noted out loud, holding his hands in hers as if she could catch him if he fell. 

Who knows, maybe she could?

"I think I'm ready to stand up." He said hesitantly.

"No, just flex your legs for a few, stretch your feet and get the blood flowing. It'll be less of a shock on your system for when you do stand." She hummed a little and dropped his hands so he could massage some circulation into the lower parts of his legs. 

Except, he didn't let go of her hands. She gave him a soft, quizzical look which pulled a crimson blush to his cheeks. "I, ah, it feels less scary with you here." Ray could let go of her hands but he really didn't want to, she may be the new love of his life and he didn't remember but there was a feeling of comfort and softness that made him feel more at ease in these strange times. 

She didn't let go of his hands, Nora merely repositioned it so it was more comfortable for both of them. A small chuckle graced his ears before she told him what made her laugh. "You know, when I turned myself into the Time Bureau, you held my hands and almost refused to let me do it."

Wait, why did she turn herself  _ into  _ the Time Bureau? Wasn't she apart of it now? Weren't she and Ava friends?

Nora saw his confusion. "It was, I'd broken out once because you gave me my father's time stone. But I helped save John's life, you kept saving mine over and over with your dumb heroism. It made me realize, at some point I had to stop running, so when you told me to run, I didn't run away. I owned up to what I did."

"But…"

"Even being demon possessed, I still had some will over my actions. They weren't good and I paid for them, I did." Nora said honestly. She knows some things can't be changed and some dark parts of her past will alway be dark but now? She looks towards her future. "You showed me things didn't have to always remain… bleak. I learned to hope and love because of you."

Ray was flabbergasted. Most of his early years were spent thinking that he'd never make a difference, he'd never impact  _ anyone's  _ life. He did some good as CEO and then more as the ATOM but the way Nora makes it sound, he saved her life. Not just literally, but… spiritually? If that made any sense to anyone other than him.

"I did that?"

"You did a lot for me, Ray." The way Nora said his name, so sweetly and so tenderly, he almost felt like crying. "Now come on, let's get you standing again." 

He swears he doesn't remember her but he knows he'd do anything for her.

\--------------

Ray was feeling a lot better now. The shower perked him up and his talk with Nora made him feel a little less anxious about being around everyone. He was still getting used to the fact that there were so many new people, but they couldn't be all bad, could they?

Except they walked in on the middle of Charlie flinging a handful of mashed potatoes at Nate's face, to which he retaliated by pelting her with a spoonful of peas. He accidentally hit Ava who made a disgusted face and let herself dragged down to their level by lobbing noodles at Nate.

It turned into an all out food fight with Sara using her ninja skills to dodge and throw more potatoes at people. Zari used her totem to deflect stray plates and gravy from hitting her while she tried to finish her donut in relative peace. 

A stray blob of oatmeal came flying at them and Ray was fully prepared to take the gooey projectile. However, Nora raised her hand and stopped it with barely any effort. He gawked at her, he didn't know she was  _ actually  _ magical, he thought everyone was just talking about how wonderful she was…

Then she used her magic to seize everyone involved in the food fight, offended noises and laughter being thrown her way. Nicole was particularly cute, unscathed by any food but obviously had been the one to throw the oatmeal due to the evidence of the bowl in front of her. "Why?" Was all she asked, pulling off her best motherly expression of 'what the hell?' all the while.

"No fair! I'm the Captain here! Mutiny!" Sara laughed. Ray took a moment to observe everyone, particularly Sara who looked a lot lighter and a lot more relaxed than he could ever remember her being. It was nice and he hoped he had a hand in helping her be happy.

"And I'm an actual mom, all of you, stay and clean up this mess. Ray and I are taking Nicole to a  _ different  _ part of the ship. Gideon will back me up because she can, and will, make your lives hell for ruining her ship."

"I hear cold showers are in, as you humans say." 

That motivated the motley crew to get into gear and start cleaning up, a few of them giggling over what happened while Ava and Sara tried to sneak in kisses when they thought no one was looking.

"Ew! Auntie Ava! Auntie Sara! No kissing!" Nicole squealed dramatically and covered her eyes while she stuck her tongue out at the older women. 

Ray watched again as they swept her up and squished her between them, they peppered her face with kisses and got even more giggles out of his daughter than he ever could have dreamed were possible. A part of him relaxed a little more, ever since he moved so far away from his mother and lost Anna, he'd been afraid that Nicole wouldn't have the family she deserved. But she  _ did. _ These wonderfully, strange people adored her with all of their beings. Even Mick, someone he thought would never be good with kids was fantastic with her from what he's seen.

His attention was redirected to Nora, she was using her magic to help him do the dishes while she made them something to eat. Originally, she tried to force him to stay away from it but… well, he liked to clean! It helped him get his thoughts together and it was one of the few moments to himself that he liked to have. She compromised with him, she'd use her magic to help but she'd be by the food fabricator, helping Nicole pick out something to eat that wasn't oatmeal or entirely junk food. 

It was a little weird to have purple dishes floating next to him, being dried after he washed them but it was entrancing all the same. Did they do this often then? If they really were together, they must have some natural rhythms and habits… 

"Ray?" Nora gently touched his shoulder and got his attention again. "We're done, Nicole says she wants to eat in your room, if that's okay." 

He agreed immediately, as long as she showed him where it was. Ray didn't know if things had changed, rooming wise or not but it was better to be safe than sorry concerning his memory. 

"Nicole's room is across the hall." Nora whispered to him, answering an unspoken question that he had. "Mine is next door."

Oh. So they weren't at the stage of living together, then? They were obviously close before the mission happened, but maybe their relationship wasn't that far along? That didn't make any sense, why would Nicole call her mama if she didn't want to live with him? Was it because she just hadn't moved in officially with him on the ship? Did they have a house groundside together? 

He had entirely too many questions and not enough time to ask them.

\-------------

After Nora said her goodnights to Ray and Nicole, she made her way to the spare bedroom on the Waverider. She had lied earlier when she told Ray she had her own room, he was already overwhelmed trying to comprehend anything that was going on, that she didn't have the heart to tell him that it was  _ their  _ room. She didn't want to go back to their house either, not without him or their daughter.

Nora collapsed onto the bed that felt far too big without her personal teddy bear and too cold without her space heater. She missed him, she missed falling asleep in his arms and listening to his little snores when he was in a deep sleep. God. She missed him.

She stared at the ceiling for a long time, lost in thought about what she could do to help him. She had to be strong for all of them. He wasn't  _ dead  _ for god's sake but it was still hard. For Nicole who's papa didn't remember her, for Sara who lost her best friend as she knew him, for herself as she lost  _ her  _ best friend and her boyfriend.

Nora place a hand softly on her stomach, she never intended to get pregnant without at least talking it out with Ray. But it happened, she told him before they went on that mission and she  _ distracted  _ him so much that he got injured. He'd been trying to protect her and despite her having seen Nate get thrown at him, despite her warning, he had gotten hurt enough that he died briefly before coming back. All he had been doing was protecting her and he's suffering from it...

It was all her fault.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mostly fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After several months of not wanting to do this, I find myself back! Welp, here you go

The next day was a little easier to handle. She still felt like it was all her fault, but it could have happened with any of the Legends. Ray would protect any of them at a moment’s notice, granted the stakes with her getting injured were considerably higher but still, he was too selfless for his own good.

It was endearing on its best days and terrifying on its worst.

“Nora!” Ray grinned when he saw her come into the gally. He was sitting on the floor with Nicole across from him, it looked like she was teaching him how to count which he didn’t need to relearn but it was too cute for him to stop her. 

“Well, that’s one constant.” She chuckled before she moved to get a bottle of orange juice from the fabricator. Of course, it would be just as easy to get a glass of it but she was lazy and Nicole liked to hold onto the bottle for whatever reason. He shot her a questioning look, prompting her to continue with, “You’re a softie, Ray Palmer. Always have been, especially for Nicole.”

Nicole’s dimples popped as she enthusiastically recounted to ten on her chubby fingers, forcing Ray to do it with her slowly to make sure he got it. “Mama, I’m helping!” she declared, practically vibrating from her spot on the floor. 

“I see that, you’re doing a good job!” Nora tried to be helpful, but she had no idea how to approach any of what was going on right then. It didn’t seem to be harming him, in fact, Ray looked positively delighted to spend time doing something as mundane as counting with Nicole. 

Even if Nicole was definitely teaching him how to count wrong, there was no such thing as the number “none.”

She decided to leave them to it, even if she didn’t want Ray out of sight, it was best to let him come to her and ask questions. Of course, it killed her to be away from him, from her family but she had to do it so his memories would come back in a much more natural manner. Gideon made it clear that this was a process that wasn’t to be forced under any circumstances and well, Nora would do anything to make sure that this was as easy on him as possible.

“Hey!” Ava’s voice stopped her in her tracks and she turned to meet her tall friend. “Sara decided to go out with Nate and Zari for pickup, I don’t know why we couldn’t have just made it here, something about the “authentic grease” that Gideon can’t replicate.” The air quotes were just too funny, especially combined with the look of disdain on Ava’s face that she couldn’t help but crack up at the entire thing.

  
  


What she was unaware of was that she was being watched, Ray hung back with Nicole on his hip, watching her too. He knew that this woman meant a lot to him, they were together before the accident that took his memory happened, Nicole loved and adored her, she even called Nora "mama." Something he never thought would happen after Anna…

"Papa?" Nicole mumbled, leaning onto him as they observed Nora making a joke and getting a laugh from Ava. He almost didn't respond to her, too caught up in the pull he was feeling for Nora. "Papa, you love mama?"

"Er, uh-" He didn't know exactly how to answer. His mind was a mess of memories and sensations, things conflicted with each other like two sides fighting with each other in a civil war, he had a hard time reconciling what was real then with what was real now. Even if his gut told him that he trusted these people with his life, with Nicole's life, he still had to be wary because to him, it went from just him and his daughter to a whole family in the matter of minutes.

Nicole seemed to get it, young as she was. "It's okay papa, you'll remember." She seemed absolutely certain that he'd get his memory back and well, he liked her confidence. "Mama's  _ awesome _ ." 

"She certainly seems so, Bug." He chuckled and then went over to the two women. "What's this I hear about junk food?" He changed the subject rather smoothly, or so he hoped as he looked at the women with a pleading look to rescue him from the idea of explaining that he wasn't sure if he loved Nora. 

He could, it wouldn't be hard. She was nice, funny, had a wicked sense of humor and adored Nicole so she was definitely someone he  _ could  _ love. But his heart still aches because for him, it wasn't long ago that he lost his fiancée, a year or so at most, not five years so how could he move on so soon?

It was a mess, but he had to grin and bear it. Though, it wasn't so bad, his new friends weren't bad, a bit batshit but he liked them. 

"Ray?" Nora gently touched his arm, sending shivers down his spine as her touch felt electrifying. "Hey, you okay?"

"Uh. Yeah, just, you know?" He floundered for a good reason as to why he spaced out. Funnily enough, she smiled at him like she did know and gently took Nicole from him. 

"I think you need a nap." Nora told Nicole, a pleased grin on her face as Nicole yawned and nodded before burrowing further into her. "And you're getting so big! I might not be able to carry you soon!"

"Noooo." Nicole whined sadly as they disappeared around the corner. 

Ray just watched them leave, a little, warm feeling blooming in his chest. It wouldn't hurt to at least get to know Nora again, right?

\-------------

"Hey." He said, leaning against the counter at near two in the morning while Nora made a smoothie. "You got enough for two?"

"It's got bananas in it." She said automatically. "You don't like them in your smoothies, I can make you a different one?"

His eyebrows nearly disappeared off of his face. Not many people knew that, not even Anna knew that because she never made him smoothies as he preferred to do it himself. "You know that?"

"Duh." She shrugged and brought back out some ingredients. He felt a little guilty that she was doing it but she did offer. "And I know what you're thinking back there, don't feel bad. I offered."

Was she a mind reader as well? She did have magic, powerful magic according to Ava and Nate but they didn't really say too much else about her. Obviously they would know more, she was on good terms with everyone on the ship, even Sara which was a surprise. So, maybe they just weren't telling him?

"You know a lot about me?"

Nora shot him a gentle smile, causing his heart to skip a beat. "Outside us being together, you were my friend first, you know?"

"How did we meet?" He couldn't help it, he was curious and it wouldn't hurt right? The only way to get those memories back was to investigate and find out. Nora knew a lot, plus she had a nice voice and was extremely kind about his memory problems. Then the fact that she didn't hide anything from him, she didn't come right out and say things but she didn't sugar coat it when he did ask and he was  _ so  _ grateful for that.

"You all tried to stop me from resurrecting my dead father and we tried to kill you." 

However, that was  _ not  _ what he was expecting. "What?" His voice conveyed every bit of surprise he felt. 

"To be fair, I was possessed by a demon and used by a cult. I don't know why, but you took pity on me and my story, you were a big part of why I changed." Nora stopped talking long enough to blend all the ingredients for his smoothie together, the noise made it impossible for them to casually chat so he took a minute to let that information sink in.

"I-I'm sorry?" He finally said when she was done.

"Thank you." She accepted it and he was sure that was that on it but she went on. "I was dying by a poison that affected my magic and you risked your life to make an antidote and then gave it to me. My dad and I kidnapped you but then we went on a mission to discover the secrets of cold fusion."

"Really?" The scientist in him was overjoyed to hear that he got to tamper with  _ that _ . 

"I dragged you along because well, my dad couldn't go because he could  _ not  _ run into past him." She set down his smoothie and then took a seat next to him. Nora was seemingly waiting for him to protest, but he didn't because why would he? She was a Legend now, she was a friend and it was kind of nice to be next to her.

They talked more, Nora told him more and more about whatever it was that he wanted to know. He firmly believed that the other him had it right, Nora was a  _ good _ person and she definitely deserved the chance she got at forging her own path. Not that she needed his approval, no she was too good for that.

But it all came to a halt when she yawned and it struck him, he knew why he was up this early but why was she up? Ray asked as much and she suddenly found the remnants of her smoothie much more interesting than making conversation with him. That was concerning as it is, did she have a nightmare? Did she need to talk about it or was all this just because she couldn't sleep?

"Nora?"

A blush overtook her face and she let out a long, dismayed groan. She covered her face and mumbled out, "We share a room but I didn't want to make you uncomfortable so I've been sleeping on the couch."

Sometimes Ray was grateful that he was so honest and didn't keep things to himself. However, as he said, "Well, the bed is big enough!" He sorely wished that he had thought that through because as kind as he was, he definitely didn't know how to handle being in bed with an admittedly gorgeous woman who was supposed to be his fiancée. 

"You're sweet, but uh, I think that's not a good idea right now."

"I can sleep in the chair?"

For some reason, that made her start howling with laughter, thoroughly confusing him despite that being one of the loveliest sounds he had ever heard in his  _ life. _

Things like that make him wonder if he ever stood a chance of not falling in love with her. 

\---------

The sound of someone throwing up was definitely not normal and something Ray needed to investigate. What if someone was sick? Or, even just hungover? They needed help!

"Papa?" Nicole whispered, poking out from her room which wasn't too far from said bathroom. She looked as worried as he felt before she said, "I think mama's sick again."

"That's your mama?" He asked automatically, surprised that he didn't even correct himself to say Nora instead. 

Nicole nodded and reached for his hand, dragging him closer to the bathroom. "She's  _ always  _ sick, everyday." She stated simply and started pushing on his leg for him to go in and help. "You help! Please?"

He didn't exactly want to intrude on Nora when she was… not feeling good but he also couldn't resist his daughter, especially concerned as she was for Nora. He didn't want to intrude but… he did have experience with someone being sick when Anna had her rounds of morning sickness, so he could do that?

"Alright, but you stay here okay? Let's not crowd mama, she might feel even more yucky." Nicole nodded sagely, she seemed to understand well enough that she moved away a little and made a picture perfect statue pose so she could guard the bathroom.

Ray steeled his nerves and went in just as the toilet flushed, Nora collapsed against the nearby wall. 

She looked absolutely  _ green  _ and made an aggrieved noise when she heard the door slide open. "What?" She rasped hoarsely before shooting the most withering glare at Ray. Of course, her face softened when she fully connected that it was him but he still held his hands up to convey peace. "Oh, Ray."

He didn't greet her, instead he chose to dig up the best mouthwash he could find in the cabinet. Before he moved her to the medbay, he was definitely going to help her get herself together because she looked like she wasn't about to move anytime soon. That was very worrisome, in the "month" that he'd known her, she had never been so stationary that she was barely able to look at him or move without upsetting her stomach.

"Here, swish this and then drink some water." He offered her the mouthwash first and she gratefully swished it around before spitting it out into the nearby drain. Ray gingerly held the cup of water to her lips, mesmerized by the way her small hands held onto his one hand to try and gain some control herself.

After that, he gingerly swooped her up and carried her off to the medbay. She tried to protest that she was fine, that it was just something she ate but he wasn't having it. If it was something as simple as food poisoning, then he would love to have Gideon make an official diagnosis because it was also highly unlikely that it  _ was  _ food poisoning.

They hadn't eaten food from anywhere off ship in at  _ least  _ two weeks and Gideon was excellent in maintaining a standard of quality that was damn impossible elsewhere.

\-------

"Ray! I told you, I'm  _ fine!" _ Nora kept insisting even as he fretted over her scans again and again.

"Fine isn't throwing up! Fine isn't staying awake at all hours of the night because you're sleeping somewhere you don't want to!. He wasn't sure why he was so upset about this, or maybe he did know? 

It seemed that in the quiet hours of the mornings, the times spent with Nora and Nicole and the times he'd spent observing her, he may have fallen in love with her all over again. 

Nora sighed. "I'm fine, I'm just- I'm pregnant, okay? I was trying to hold off on telling you again but-"

He stared at her dumbfoundedly. Of all the reasons for her being sick, not once did he think it was morning sickness that was her problem. Especially since he logically  _ knew  _ that they'd been… together for a while beforehand so the only logical conclusion had to be-? That-?

"Oh." He stopped, standing stock still as she gave him that wonderfully soft, kind smile. "Mine?"

"Well, duh." Nora snorted and held out her hand towards him, inviting him into her space if he was ready for it. 

That was the thing, he'd spent the past month missing pieces and feeling lost because there were so many things he had forgotten due to a damn amnesia accident. The team had told him he had lost it in the field, he'd been protecting Nora so did that mean the other him knew? Had he been so ready to lay down his own life that he would have left Nicole, fatherless and Nora, partnerless?

Sounds like him but he would gladly throttle that other Ray too because how dare he? There was no reason why he couldn't have  _ moved  _ too, but no, he didn't and now he was paying the consequences.

One of which meant that he forgot the mother of his next child. 

Ray steeled his resolve, he took her hand and stepped into her space as she placed one of his hands on her stomach. There he could feel a small baby bump and it solidified the entire situation for him, this was  _ his  _ kid with this-this  _ wonderful  _ woman.

"It's a lot to handle, I know. You can take as much time as you need to process it." Ray knew Nora well enough by now that she didn't really  _ want  _ him to leave but she was too selfless to ask him to stay. Well, maybe he wanted her to be selfish, maybe he wanted her to ask him to stay with her, memory thing be damned.

"No, ask me to stay." He refused to leave because he was tired of taking his time with this. Even if he never regained the memories of before, he still had years of  _ after  _ to look forward to with this woman who so wholly captivated him. 

He really didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell at resisting her and honestly, he could think of worse fates. 

A grin broke out on Nora's face and instead of asking, she slunk a hand around the back of his neck, pressing their foreheads together for an intimate moment. It felt  _ right  _ and it felt like coming home after being away entirely too long. She felt like home, she felt like perfection. 

"Would it be too forward if I asked if I could kiss you?" He wondered aloud, he knew he had bad timing, so why the hell not? Ray trusted her to tell him no if she didn't want to but the thing was,  _ he  _ really wanted to and hoped she did too.

Again, instead of answering him, she pulled him down the rest of the way and firmly connected their lips. 

Ray was shocked momentarily, he didn't expect anything from her but it quickly melted away as he fervently cupped her cheeks to reciprocate in kind. 

Once he felt her smile against his lips, he felt like he'd be struck by lightning, or hit over the head with his best friend all over again. Memories flooded back,  _ Nicole's first steps, her first word, his friends, his fiancée,  _ just  _ everything _ came back to him all at once and he was finally, finally able to breathe again.

"I remember." He said quickly before Nora could ask him if he was okay. "I  _ remember _ ."

She started laughing, a happy, joyous sound that caused Nicole to poke her head in, worried and concerned as to what had been happening. Ray knelt down and opened his arms out wide, beckoning for her to come hug him and she rocketed into him. Nicole knew, she had to because she started squealing with joy herself about how he was back and she had missed  _ him. _

Ray never wanted to forget them again, but if he did, his fiancée was a force of nature that could make any version of him fall in love again and again. And hell, he was perfectly fine with that.

Fine with that indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No betas, we post like we're tired of this in our wips.


End file.
